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Polarity and International Stability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Manus I. Midlarsky  and
Ted Hopf
Manus I. Midlarsky
Affiliation:
Rutgers University
Ted Hopf
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
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Abstract

In his article in the June 1991 issue of this Review, Ted Hopf challenged the argument that bipolar systems are inherently more stable than multipolar configurations of power. He reported that the international situation in sixteenth century Europe became only marginally more stable with a shift from a multipolar to a bipolar system. He argued for attention to the offensive-defensive balance, rather than systemic polarity. Manus Midlarsky accounts for Hopf's findings, and for evidence of multipolarity and increased conflict in the early seventeenth and twentieth centuries, by proposing a relationship between polarity and war that is contingent on scarcity of desired international resources. Midlarsky argues for more attention to contingent relationships generally and draws implications for current and future probabilities of conflict in a multipolar world. Hopf responds by pointing out the need for further development of Midlarsky's analysis, the possible compatibility between Midlarsky's formulation and his own focus on the offensive-defensive balance, and the desirability of a productive unity of the two research programs.

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Type
Controversy
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 87 , Issue 1 , March 1993 , pp. 173 - 180
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1993

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